Part Three
Dr. Alex Karev tabbed the off button on his cell phone. Dressed in rumpled blue scrubs, he stroked his day old stubble and wondered why Addison was not answering her phone. He knew she was reliable to a fault. Add that to her desire for him and he had been sure she would pick up before her recorded voice did.
Perhaps he was mistaken.
Maybe she didn't quite fancy him the way he thought she did. Had he simply imagined her lingering gaze whenever she thought he wasn't looking and the way her green eyes lit up in his presence? If that were so, he ought not to phone her again. One missed call registered on her cell could easily be explained with a flippant "I meant to dial my mother's number." After all many people expected that from him. However more than one and he would be laying half his cards on the table. Yes, he wanted so much to hear her voice, yet he didn't want her to know that he desperately wanted to do so.
Alex could live with Addison being clueless and hence unable to reciprocate his feelings for her. But Addison turning away from his advances was something he was sure he hadn't the strength to deal with. He also knew that if he never took a step forward, took a leap of faith as his father liked to put it, his relationship with Addison would never get anywhere.
So what was he to do?
Suddenly, the phone in his hand started to ring. Startled out of his reverie, he glanced at the lighted screen, pressed the green button and refrained from giving a whoop of joy. Addison was calling him back! All that worrying was for naught. She was probably in the bathroom soaking in the tub or something. "Hello?"
Or something. The voice that answered was not Addison Montgomery's. It wasn't even feminine, but gruff and with an accent he couldn't quite place. "Who is this?"
"Who are you?" Alex said, genuinely surprised and perplexed. Unfortunately, thirty-six hours on-call had robbed him of clarity of thought so that his brain moved sluggishly and he wasn't able to come up with anything more cogent.
"This phone was ringing. I want you to tell me who you were looking for." The reply was a statement, a demand that bore no argument and gave Alex a sense of finality. He realized at once that the man using Addison's phone wasn't bothering with polite enquiries because he had somehow overpowered her into surrendering it. In a phrase, the ball wasn't in Alex's court.
"Erm… I was trying to reach Addison Montgomery."
"She can't come to the phone right now" the voice replied, not bothering to elaborate.
Instinct told Alex to thread carefully. "Can I ask why?" he enquired tentatively. He didn't intend to prod at whatever semblance of calm that still remained on Addison's end of the line.
"You don't get to ask questions. I talk, you listen, you obey. Understood? If I get a whiff of you not cooperating, Addison, your lovely redhead here is dead."
Alex felt a chill go up his spine. "Alright" he agreed. What choice did he have?
"Come down to United Bank along first. Tell the negotiators this: I want one million in cash on board a helicopter flying me and my buddy to the airport. There, a private jet will be waiting to take us to any country I want."
"I'm going right now" Alex replied. "In the meantime, please…"
"One more thing. Once everything is arranged, get the chief negotiator to call and confirm. You know the number. Judging by how Miss Montgomery looks about now, you know this number very well. And if a single cop starts acting funny, I may decide to let Freddy here have some personal time with your redhead."
"If I can just talk to her?" Alex asked. All he heard in response was the sound of a dial tone.
Heart pounding, he raced down the stairwell, stripping off his scrubs as he moved. No need for the kidnappers, hostage takers, whoever they were to gain more leverage over Addison by realizing she was either close to a doctor or a doctor herself. From what he learnt while on movie dates, it was safer for her to keep a low profile. Lay low my ass! Alex admonished himself, regretting his phone call which put her in the limelight.
Barreling through the front doors of Seattle Grace Hospital, Alex ran onto the street, hand outstretched until a taxi lurched to a stop, narrowly knocking him over.
"Son, you should be more careful…" the grandfatherly cabdriver started, his white whiskers twitching.
"United Bank on first" Alex instructed, cutting the driver off. "Please hurry."
Something in his passenger's eyes made the cabdriver step on the accelerator. His plea to hurry had a note of quiet desperation and thinly veiled panic. "I will son, sit tight."
Alex was no longer paying attention, his mind filled with bad men, guns, blood and Addison. Always Addison.
A/N: Do review, please! I love reviews!
